Empress of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas has rejoined the fleet and has been offering regular sailings to destinations around the Caribbean, and one of our blog readers was lucky enough to be onboard a recent sailing and shared photos with us.

Empress of the Seas might be the smallest ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet, but she is still an elegant and beautiful ship and these photos by Brian Owens shows off that grandeur in a great way.

Empress of the Seas is currently sailing out of Miami, Florida offering short 4- and 5-night getaways from Miami to Nassau, The Bahamas; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Grand Cayman and Key West, Florida.

It appears Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas is experiencing a "technical issue" related to its engines.

Cruise Critic is reporting that Empress of the Seas' engine troubles are forcing the ship to reroute its current sailing.

In a statement by Royal Caribbean, the company explained that work is underway to resolve the issue, "Empress of the Seas is currently experiencing a technical issue with one of the ship's four engine. Since we became aware of the problem, our highly trained engineering team has been working to resolve the issue. While we work on the issue, the ship is sailing at a reduced rate of speed."

Empress of the Seas was scheduled to visit Grand Cayman, but instead visited Nassau yesterday and stopped at CocoCay earlier today. It will call on Key West on June 29, as scheduled.

Royal Caribbean is offering compensation to guests aboard the current sailing in the amount of 10 percent of the cruise fare paid, per stateroom.

According to the line, all equipment onboard is fully functional and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of passengers and crew. Royal Caribbean has not yet indicated whether the next sailing will be affected by the engine trouble.

Despite a coupleof delays, Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas arrived in her new homeport of Miami earlier today, following a $50 million revitalization.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

Empress will set sail on her first sailing on Saturday, May 28 visiting Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas.

The ship will then offer short 4- and 5-night getaways from Miami to Nassau, The Bahamas; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Grand Cayman and Key West, Florida. With longer stays in every port, guests will be able to experience spectacular golden sunsets in the Caribbean. Plus, on select 5-night itineraries, guest can experience the authentic Mexican culture and cuisine during overnight stays in Cozumel, Mexico.

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

Empress of the Seas will offer signature amenities including a thrilling rock-climbing wall for adrenaline seekers; new pools and whirlpools; a spa with an extensive treatment menu; and a complimentary Adventure Ocean youth program.

Empress also will offer a variety of dining options, including the casual atmosphere of the Windjammer Café and fine dining at the brand’s signature steakhouse Chops Grille. In addition, the ship will offer Voom, the fastest internet at sea.

Royal Caribbean provided this explanation as to why these additional sailings are being cancelled, "Modernizing Empress of the Seas for her return to the Royal Caribbean International fleet began in late February. As work has progressed, we learned that more significant infrastructure and physical improvements across the ship's multiple galleys and provisioning areas were needed to meet our high standards."

"We decided that instead of simply repairing the five galleys, we would completely rebuild them, starting from scratch with entirely new infrastructure and all new equipment, at a cost of $10 million."

"We sincerely apologize to our guests and travel partners for the inconvenience, and hope they understand that more time was needed to ensure Empress of the Seas meets the standards for quality our guests expect from Royal Caribbean."

Guests originally booked on the March 30, April 4, April 7, April 11, April 16 and April 21 sailings and rebooked on one of the newly cancelled sailings will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit of 100%.

Guests scheduled to sail within 14 days of departure on the cancelled April 25 or April 30 sailing, who do not rebook, will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit of 50% of the fare paid.

All other guests scheduled to sail on the May 5th - May 23rd sail dates will be provided an onboard credit if they rebook to another Royal Caribbean sailing.

Royal Caribbean notified its travel partners and guests that the first six sailings scheduled for Empress of the Seas have been cancelled.

Empress of the Seas sailings scheduled to depart on March 30, April 4, April 7, April 11, April 16 and April 21 have been cancelled.

The reasoning seems to be that additional work is needed before Empress of the Seas can rejoin the fleet. In a statement to travel partners, Royal Caribbean explained, "Like many large renovation project, we are going to need more time to ensure the ship meets the high standards for quality our guests expect from Royal Caribbean."

As an alternative, guests may move to the same stateroom category on another Empress of Seas sailing between April 25, 2016 and July 23, 2016, and may also move to the same stateroom category on any Majesty of the Seas sailing between now and April 29, 2016 for the same cruise fare rate they paid for their original sailing. Guests who rebook to any Royal Caribbean Sailing will receive a $100 per stateroom onboard credit.

Guests who cannot or do not want to rebook, are eligble for a full refund of their cruise fare paid.

Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas will be sailing out of Miami, Florida starting in March 2016 and offering 3-, 4- and 5-night cruises.

Royal Caribbean's web site is now allowing guests make bookings for Empress of the Seas and it confirms that she will be sailing out of Miami.

Sailings will begin on March 30, 2016 and are open for sale through mid-June 2016

Empress of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night getaways from Miami to Nassau, The Bahamas; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Grand Cayman and Key West, Florida. With longer stays in every port guests will be able to experience spectacular golden sunsets in the Caribbean. Plus, on select 5-night itineraries guest can experience overnight stays in Cozumel, Mexico.

Other itineraries include sailings to ports such as Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico, Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman.

In addition, Royal Caribbean will offer guests a "Sunday Brunch" every day, with a complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Mary, as well as offering no formal nights.

Upon her return, Empress will have a whole new look and feel that will extend to the ship's staterooms as well.

Concept drawing for a Junior Suite on Empress of the Seas by Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean announced in October 2015 that Empress of the Seas would return to Royal Caribbean's fleet after an 8 year absence.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean formally announced the news of Empress of the Seas homeport being Miami, with some additional details.

Empress of the Seas is simply known as Empress in Pullmantur, but when she returns to Royal Caribbean, she will go back to being called Empress of the Seas.

Empress debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress before being renamed in 2004 as Empress of the Seas. Empress of the Seas' final cruise took place on March 7, 2008 and was subsequently transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Empress.

Empress can accommodate 2,020 guests and 685 crew members.

Are you excited about Empress of the Seas returning to Royal Caribbean? Share your thoughts in the comments.

CruceroAdicto, a Spanish site, has posted news about the Pullmantur cruise line changing some its plans for 2016 and among the news is the announcement that Empress will be transferred to the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Royal Caribbean has not made any announcements regarding Empress' future.

Pullmantur is a subsidary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd that is based out of Madrid, Spain.

Empress debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress before being renamed in 2004 as Empress of the Seas. In 2008, she was transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Empress.

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